1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to ovens for cooking ranges and, more particularly, to insulated oven doors having the capability to view the interior of the oven without opening the door. The oven door of the present invention is especially well-suited for use in connection with self-cleaning (pyrolitic) type cooking ranges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When the oven door of a cooking range is closed, it is desirable to be able to observe the interior of the oven without opening the oven door so as to prevent the loss of accumulated heat from the oven. The prior art recognizes two techniques for observing the interior of the oven without opening the oven door; observation windows provided in the oven doors, and observation windows provided in the oven walls, usually a top wall. Examples of the former approach are legion, and include U.S. Pat. No. 2,428,987, U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,886, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,977. Examples of the latter approach also are numerous, and include U.S. Pat. No. 2,687,125, U.S. Pat. No. 2,733,706, U.S. Pat. No. 3,128,363, U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,612, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,472.
A problem with oven doors having transparent windows is that it is necessary to bend over in order to be able to observe the interior of the oven. Also, there are various difficulties associated with insulating the oven door adequately and keeping the window clean on its interior surface.
A problem associated with cooking ovens having windowed walls is that such viewing systems can be quite expensive and can require extensive structural modifications of the oven. Further, such devices are believed to provide less than desirable observation of the interior of the oven. In part, the difficulty associated with viewing the interior of the oven, whether with a windowed oven door or a windowed oven wall, is that the interior light that illuminates the oven usually is underpowered and poorly placed.
Desirably, an oven door for a cooking range would be available that would provide a highly effective technique for viewing the interior of the oven. Any such oven door preferably would be well insulated, and it would include a lighting system that would effectively illuminate the interior of the oven.
In the description and claims that follow, reference will be made to various components of the invention and their orientation through the use of such words as "upper," "horizontally," "vertically" and so forth. The use of such words is in conjunction with a door-closed position as will occur during normal use of the invention. It is to be understood that the use of such terms of orientation is solely for purposes of convenience. The various components of the invention can be disposed in different orientations and can be described by different words of orientation without departing from the teachings of the present invention.